January 2026
On January 6, 2026, the DHS announced it was launching what it called the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out, sending 2,000 agents to the Twin Cities. [16] The same day, ICE agents photographed the license plates and faces of a St. Paul couple observing their activities, then greeted them by name and drove to their house, demonstrating their access to private data about the couple in what the couple called an effort to intimidate them. [4]
On January 8, federal agents tackled people and used chemical irritants outside Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. Eyewitnesses said the agents were hitting people who were already on the ground. Minneapolis Public Schools subsequently canceled classes for the remainder of the week. [17] In a McDonalds in Minneapolis's north side, a security guard blocked ICE from forcing their way behind the restaurant's counter without a warrant. [18] The same day, a video showed ICE agents raiding a Target store and arresting the store's drive up workers in the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield. [19]
On January 9, an ICE agent threatened a pregnant St. Louis Park immigration attorney with a can of pepper spray and scanned her face after she requested that the agent leave the private parking lot of her lawfirm. [4]
On January 11, an ICE agent threatened a man who said he was trying to get home, accusing the driver of following them and saying "Did you not learn from what just happened?" in reference to the killing of Renee Good. [20] The same day, ICE arrested two US citizens engaged in a community patrol who were monitoring their activities. The agents sprayed pepper spray into the vent of the patrollers' car and smashed the car's windows, despite the doors being unlocked. One of the patrollers alleged that an agent invoked the killing of Renee Good to threaten her, saying "You guys gotta stop obstructing us. That’s why that lesbian bitch is dead." The other patroller further described his experience inside the Whipple Federal Building, where he said that food and bathroom breaks were rare and injured detainees were denied medical attention, and that DHS agents offered to "pay him money or extract favorable immigration outcomes on his behalf if he would give them the names and contact information of other illegal immigrants." The pair were released into an active protest outside the building after 8 hours of detention, and subsequently pepper sprayed alongside the other protestors. [21]
Killing of Renée Good
On January 7, 2026, Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen, was fatally shot by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross [a] in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Good was in her SUV, stopped sideways in the street. Ross drove around her, circled her on foot, and approached the front of her car. After more agents approached her and pulled her door handle, Good began driving into the direction of traffic, turning away from Ross, as he fired three shots, killing her.
Federal law enforcement officials and President Donald Trump defended the shooting, saying the agent acted in self-defense and that Good ran him over. This account has been contested by eyewitnesses, journalists, [25] and Democratic Party lawmakers, some of whom have called for a criminal investigation. [26] Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota governor Tim Walz called on ICE to end their presence in the city. Thousands have protested in Minneapolis, [27] and more have protested in other cities including Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C. [28]
